On January 4, 2009, six ski teams from Norway and the United Kingdom began a 483-mile race across Antarctica's frigid, high, dry plain from Russia's Novolazarovskaya Base to America's Amundsen Scott Research Station at the South Pole. Here we see their camp at the South Pole as their plane waits to take the earliest finishers back to Novo. The support team, with their trucks and tents, will wait for the rest of the ski teams to reach the Pole. When everyone has crossed the finish line the remaining skiers and most of the support staff will fly back north. The trucks are going to drive back across the ice.

History buffs will remember that Roald Amundsen from Norway and England's Robert Falcon Scott had the first race to the South Pole in 1912. Technology has brought us better sleds and tents, safer fuel and food and warmer, lighter clothes to make the journey in 2009 safer and more comfortable than the crossing from the Ross Sea a century ago. Scott experimented with motor vehicles for his journey, but had none of the success of the trucks that you see in this photograph. Despite the improvements in the tools for polar exploration, Antarctica remains a challenging environment. The people who participated in this year's race will no doubt attest to the hardships that still meet those who venture into the far south. Congratulations to all of you.

The 34 images of this pamorama were photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Aoutopano Pro.